


Only Fools Fall

by celeste9



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bodyguard, Canon-Typical Violence, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Prince Ben Solo, Romance, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-05 20:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11020524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: When Poe Dameron's new assignment from the New Republic Navy is to serve as bodyguard for the prince of New Alderaan at the behest of its queen, he couldn't be less enthused. Well, at least until he actually meets the spoiled dick of a prince, that is.





	Only Fools Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [perlaret](https://archiveofourown.org/users/perlaret/gifts).



> My only regret is that I couldn't write all your prompts! I went a bit overboard, lol, hope you like this. Title from Troye Sivan.

The port in the capital city of New Alderaan was as nice as any Poe had ever seen. Of course, it could just have been the fact that it was cleaner than most spaceports Poe had ever been in. Even the air smelled fresher as Poe walked down the landing ramp, not so much like stale sweat and engine grease, more like plain clean air.

Not that any of this meant that Poe was happy about this new assignment.

Bodyguard to some pampered rich prince. It was a kriffing travesty was what it was.

Honestly Poe had little expectation that he would be more than a glorified baby-sitter. It was a waste of his skills, sending him here where he would rot on the ground. Command seemed to think they’d been doing him a favor with this assignment. Maybe they thought he needed a vacation.

As if Poe would ever want a vacation that revolved around not flying. Pfft.

“Special assignment, they said,” Poe muttered to himself, ignoring the looks of the other travelers pushing past him. “Personal request from the queen herself, they said.”

Poe hadn’t seen Queen Leia Organa of New Alderaan outside of news holos since he was a kid. She might have been an old friend of his parents but she was virtually a stranger to Poe. She sent him messages from time to time, when he’d graduated from the Academy, when he’d been promoted, on the anniversary of his mother’s death, but she was sort of like that distant aunt you only knew in theory and not in actuality. (An amazing distant aunt that Poe had half-worshipped in his youth, to be sure, but still a distant aunt.) He couldn’t imagine why she would have asked for him.

And her son, the prince, well. Poe had never even met him. On the HoloNet he seemed to have two expressions: angry and bored.

“Yeah, very special,” Poe said, and plastered a polite expression on his face as what looked to be the official welcoming committee approached him.

“Commander Dameron,” said a tall blonde woman of perhaps Poe’s father’s age. “I am Evaan Verlaine, aide to Queen Leia. Allow me to welcome you to New Alderaan.”

“Thank you,” Poe said, making himself smile. “It’s an honor.”

“There is a speeder outside waiting to take you to the palace. I can show you to your quarters where you can freshen up before meeting with the royal family.”

The royal family. Was Poe the only one who saw the ridiculousness of this? Here he was, a pilot from a colonized moon, about to shake hands and make polite conversation with royals. The fact that he’d known the queen in question when he was still tottering around and crying when he fell over didn’t really make it seem any less ridiculous.

“Sounds great,” he said, and hoped Evaan Verlaine couldn’t hear him lying through his teeth.

Alderaan had been destroyed for about as long as Poe had been alive but by all accounts, it had been a beautiful, peaceful planet. He could see why they’d chosen this location to rebuild; the mountainous terrain and mild climate resembled their native home.

Poe entertained himself by watching the scenery as they zipped through the city, listening to Evaan - _call me Evaan,_ she had said when Poe attempted formality - talk about her world. She clearly had a deep, abiding love for her people and her culture and was proud of what the queen had done to revitalize what remained of Alderaan after the destruction of their home planet by the Empire.

“And the prince?” Poe found himself asking. “What do you think of him?”

“Young,” Evaan said shortly.

“Young?”

“He isn’t his mother.”

Poe got the impression that was as cutting a remark as Evaan could make.

Great. This assignment got better all the time.

-

Poe’s rooms were large and sumptuous, a suite, essentially, with his own sitting room, a bedroom, and an adjoining refresher. The windows provided him with an amazing view of the palace grounds, the bed was huge and so comfortable that Poe had had difficulty forcing himself up off it once he’d lied down to test it, and the refresher alone was practically as big as his entire quarters back on base on Hosnian Prime. So he had that going for him, at least.

He had a shower and dressed in his naval uniform, preparing for dinner with the queen. He had hoped for something more private but apparently it was to be something of a to-do. Evaan had told him to expect a meet and greet with many of New Alderaan’s public officials.

Poe hoped there would be booze. He minded mingling a hell of a lot less with a drink in his hand.

There was, it turned out, a lot of booze. Instead of a sit-down dinner they were all gathered in a cavernous hall, tastefully decorated, with serving droids carrying around trays of drinks and canapés, as well as a large table against one wall with a selection of food. The food was amazing and Poe wasn’t sure exactly what he was drinking but it was fizzy and light and refreshing and he wanted a lot of it.

He intentionally slowed down, acknowledging how embarrassing it would be to meet the queen drunk. Not to mention unprofessional, considering he doubted she could feel confident entrusting her son’s safety to a drunken pilot.

Speaking of the queen, the guests all quieted momentarily when she entered, her husband recognizable by her side. She was dressed in white, with a long, lacy scarf draped over her elaborately braided hair, and her smile was a tad mischievous.

“Please,” she said, “don’t stop drinking on my account.”

Laughter rippled throughout the hall and conversation continued. Queen Leia’s gaze alighted on Poe and she murmured something to her husband, former smuggler turned Rebellion general Han Solo, before leaving him to approach Poe.

“Commander Dameron, I believe?” she said.

Poe dropped into a bow he was afraid was more stilted than it should be. “Prin-- I mean, Queen Leia, er, Your Highness? Majesty?”

 _Shit._ He should have gone over protocol with Evaan; clearly he had entirely over-estimated his ability to not make an ass of himself.

The queen was smiling, though. “Considering I’ve helped your mother clean up after you when you were sick all over the carpet, I think you can call me Leia.”

Poe blushed. Oh, Force.

“You look so much like her, you know. Your mother,” Queen Leia said, her brown eyes soft.

“Thank you,” Poe said, his embarrassed flush brightening, though with pleasure. It always gave him a weird sort of thrill when anyone equated him with his mother; it was hard not to think of her as someone extraordinary, given both his young memories of her and the stories he had heard since.

“I hope you’re settling in well? Evaan told me you seemed pleased with the room.”

“Nicest room I’ve ever stayed in, easy.”

“Wait until you try the bed,” Queen Leia teased. “I’ll be honest; after years of terrible Rebellion bunks I was disinclined to spare any expenses on that one thing, at least.”

Poe laughed. He remembered the formerly Princess Leia as a vague warm, comfortable presence from his early life who had made him laugh and made him happy; it was nice to know that the years hadn’t much changed her.

“I was glad you accepted my offer to come here. I don’t believe it should be too strenuous a job for you. Obviously that’s what I hope for, but in any case, Ben… He has shown little inclination for the political life he has been raised for but he isn’t a boy any longer. He needs to face his future.”

Poe shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying not to fidget. He couldn’t fathom why the queen was being so open with him; he was here to guard her son, not peek into his psyche. “Queen Leia, if you don’t mind me asking, why me? I’m just a pilot; surely someone from the security force would have been a better choice to protect your son.”

“Leia,” the queen said firmly. “Was I wrong in thinking that you could handle this?”

“No, of course not. I can take care of myself, and you can trust me to take care of your son, too. I take a lot of pride in what I do. But… it’s only that I don’t seem to be a… natural choice for this sort of assignment.”

“Oh, I think you’re the perfect choice, Poe. May I call you Poe?”

Poe nodded, unsure of what else he could do. She was the _queen of Alderaan,_ she could fucking call him whatever she liked.

“Good, and even better, here’s my son. Late as always. Ben!”

Turning in the direction the queen was gesturing, Poe watched the unmistakable form of Prince Ben walk towards them. Young, dark-haired, and pale-skinned, the prince was dressed entirely in black. Somehow he managed to look even larger in person than he did on the HoloNet news, tall and broad-shouldered, a looming giant in comparison to his petite mother. It was kind of hilarious, Poe thought, that he was meant to serve as bodyguard to this guy who was, like, a foot taller than him and Force knew how much heavier.

The rumor was he trained with his Jedi uncle sometimes. Poe could believe it.

To be honest, he looked like someone Poe would have tried to pick up if he’d met him in a bar. Poe carefully banished that thought from his head.

“Prince Ben,” he said, trying his awkward bow again.

“Commander,” the prince said, eyes moving down Poe’s body and back up again, his neutral expression adopting an edge of boredom. Probably intentional, Poe figured.

“I’ll let you get acquainted,” the queen said, something in her face when she looked at her son seeming to say, _be nice._ “Enjoy the party, Poe.”

“Queen Leia,” Poe murmured as she went off, the polite smile of a practiced politician settling on her face as she greeted her other guests.

Prince Ben was looking down his long nose at Poe. “So not only did they send me a bodyguard I don’t want, but they sent me one who looks like he needs a booster seat.”

“Size isn’t everything,” Poe said primly, and the prince rolled his eyes.

“If you tell me it’s how you use it I’m going to have to ask to get you replaced immediately.”

“Well, now you’ve said it for me so I don’t have to.”

“I hope my mother isn’t paying extra for your wit.”

“My wit comes free,” Poe said, gazing longingly at a serving droid carrying those fizzy drinks passing behind Prince Ben’s back. “The same as your attitude, apparently.”

The prince scowled. “Pretty sure you’re supposed to be respectful or I can fire you.”

Poe shrugged. “I don’t much mind if you do, to be honest. Your mother might not like it, though.”

“My mother doesn’t like a lot of things where I’m concerned.” The prince fixed Poe with that assessing gaze again. “You’re a pilot. Do you even know how to use a blaster?”

Bristling, Poe said, “I graduated from the Academy on Hosnian Prime. I’m a commissioned officer in the New Republic Navy. I can handle myself, and I can handle anything that’s thrown at you.”

“Well, no one said you’d be modest.”

“And everyone did say you’d be a pompous ass.”

Prince Ben’s pale cheeks flushed. “You do realize I can have you thrown in prison if I like?”

“Your mother is fond of me. Do it and see what she says.”

“My mother doesn’t rule me.”

“Actually, I think she rules this whole place. Kinda the point of being queen.”

“Poe Dameron,” someone called loudly from nearby, and Poe looked up at Queen Leia’s king consort.

“General Solo,” Poe said, unsure if he should bow, so he did.

“Aw, hell, none of that,” General Solo said, waving him up. “And plain old captain is fine; haven’t been a general in years.”

“Captain, then,” Poe said. His memories of Han Solo were even vaguer than his memories of Queen Leia, but he remembered a man who had made his father laugh, a man his father spoke of even still with the utmost respect.

“Hope Ben’s not scaring you off already. He tries hard.”

“Dad,” the prince said tightly, a little petulantly, like an embarrassed teenager.

“You do,” Captain Solo said, then looked at Poe again. “How’s Kes?”

“Good,” Poe said, smiling, brightening easily at the thought of his father. “Think he was happier about this posting than I was. No offense.”

“Hey, none taken by me. You think I planned on living my life surrounded by these fancy types?” Captain Solo was smiling though, rueful gaze alighting briefly on his wife across the room. “So long as Ben stays out of trouble this should be like a holiday for you compared to what you’re used to.”

“Mostly, yeah,” Poe agreed. “Though it’s been quiet lately. Pirates, criminals, that’s about as dangerous as I’ve seen for a while.”

“You’ve just described my father,” Prince Ben muttered, and Captain Solo cuffed the back of his head.

“Don’t knock where you came from, kid. Besides, I’m respectable now.” His grin was wry and self-aware. “My business is completely above board.”

“Of course,” Poe said, matching Captain Solo’s smile. He knew it was actually true, but he had heard his father’s stories, too.

“Enjoy the booze,” Captain Solo said, looping his arm around Prince Ben to steer him away. “Ben’s got some mingling to do and your job doesn’t officially start until the morning.”

“Thanks, I will,” Poe said, still grinning, and watched the two men go off into the crowd. He wished he was here to be bodyguard to Prince Ben’s parents rather than Prince Ben himself.

He consoled himself with another glass of the mysterious fizzy alcohol.

-

“This assignment is the worst,” Poe complained to the image of Karè on his datapad, reclining against sinfully luxurious pillows in his suite after the dinner. “It’s kriffing awful.”

“Yeah, looks terrible,” Karè said. “Look at that bed.”

“Okay, that’s an admitted perk.” Poe scrambled up, turning the screen around so Karè could see better. “Let me give you a tour.”

“Your room’s big enough for a tour?”

“Oh, yeah.” Poe went around his suite pointing out all the luxuries while Karè oohed and aahed appropriately. When he sat back down again, cross-legged on the mattress, he said, “So I could get used to this part, anyway.”

“And the prince? How’s he? I can never really decide from holos if he’s hot or just weird-looking.”

 _Hot,_ Poe thought, but kept that to himself. “He’s a dick.”

Karè was smirking. “So, exactly your type?”

“Hey, I date nice guys. Sometimes.”

“Yeah? Like who?”

Poe thought for a moment. “Muran?”

“Wow, one nice guy, back when you were in school. I withdraw my statement, obviously.”

“Man, look at that sass. I don’t know why we’re even friends.”

“Because no one else would put up with you like I do.”

“Fair. The prince thinks I’m a dick though, too, so I don’t foresee a bright future for us.”

Karè mock-gasped. “A man not interested in Poe Dameron? Impossible!”

“You’re the worst.”

“Mutual loathing’s not always a hard no, though. Hate sex?”

The idea was unfortunately not unappealing and Poe had to carefully cast a few choice images from his mind. “I think that would fall under the umbrella of extremely unprofessional and inappropriate things I should not do.”

“Hmm, could be right. The queen’s generally positive feelings towards you can only go so far.”

“The queen, though,” Poe said. “The queen is lovely.”

“Sure. She’s Leia Organa.”

“Yeah, but…” Poe struggled to articulate what he wanted to say. They’d all seen the holos; they all knew what Leia Organa had done during the war and after. “She’s even more than you’d think.”

“She’s another inappropriate thing you should not do, Dameron,” Karè said with a smirk. “Though I have to say, if you were gonna go for a woman, it might as well be Leia Organa.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Not everything’s about that, you know.”

“Oh, whatever, I’m just looking out for you. Don’t go falling for the prince, okay? I’m sure the queen didn’t ask you there so you could seduce her son.”

“Not gonna be a problem. He really is a complete dick.”

“Really not seeing the drawback,” Karè said, laughingly ending the connection.

“A _dick,_ ” Poe repeated to himself. Prince Ben Organa-Solo was one not nice guy Poe was not going to fall for.

-

Poe met Prince Ben late in the morning, having spent the early hours waiting for the prince to show his face. He was dressed comfortably and hopefully inconspicuously, in his flight jacket with a blaster in a holster at his hip.

Prince Ben pursed his lips when he saw Poe. “Do you choose to look this shabby or can the New Republic simply not afford to pay its officers?”

“Hey, this jacket gets me laid.” Poe was only half-joking.

“The rumor I heard is that you’re married to your ship.”

“We have an open relationship. I don’t ask about her business and she doesn’t ask about mine.”

Prince Ben snorted and Poe let himself smile. “Must be so hard for you, this prolonged separation.”

“It wounds me deeply,” Poe agreed. Again, only half-joking. “But, hey. There are rumors about me?”

“Not as many as there are about me,” Prince Ben said, striding off.

Poe wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to that so he just hurried after the prince, trying to keep up with his long strides.

“What’s on the itinerary?” he asked. “No one exactly shared that with me.”

“Just because my family is paying to have you watch me,” Prince Ben said, not looking at Poe, “doesn’t mean we have to make conversation.”

“Well, geez. Thought it might be more pleasant for both if us if we didn’t give each other the silent treatment.”

“I prefer silence to inane chatter.”

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?”

He gave in, though, and followed Prince Ben in silence. Poe supposed maybe it was occupation enough keeping himself alert, watching everyone and everything around them for signs of threat. No one seemed to think the prince was in any serious danger but Poe figured it would be his luck to have something happen on his first day.

Poe was brand new to the city so he couldn’t tell where the prince was taking him. He worked on keeping the turns in his head, trying to start building a map in his mind, and enjoyed the bright sun and light breeze.

Presently he realized where they were headed. “Is this a private hangar?”

The prince failed to answer.

“Are you planning on going somewhere? Because Queen Leia--”

“I’m just going for a circle round,” Prince Ben said, like it was beneath him to have to explain himself. “It’s my ship.”

“You fly?” Poe said a split-second before realizing how inane that sounded. The prince’s father was Han Solo; he had probably learned to fly as easily as he learned to walk.

Again, Prince Ben decided not to deign to answer.

Yep, still a dick.

Prince Ben turned out to be the proud owner of a well-kept skyhopper and he was damn fine behind the controls of it. He zipped above the city, pushing the speed, tightening his turns, and Poe felt a traitorous warmth creep into his belly. Blast. He was a fucking sucker for a good pilot.

“Suppose I can’t have a spin at the stick?” Poe asked.

The disdainful look Prince Ben fixed him with was answer enough.

“I’m a pretty good pilot, you know. Some might say I’m the best there is.”

“Your modesty is admirable. If you’re half as good a bodyguard as you think you are a pilot, my parents will be getting their money’s worth.”

“That would make me a hell of a bodyguard,” Poe said with a grin, watching the prince’s lips purse.

Prince Ben pushed the skyhopper a bit harder, leaning on the flight stick to increase the speed, weaving through a grove of trees on the outskirts of the city like he was showing off. Or maybe just working out some aggression, Poe supposed it didn’t much matter which. He took them back to the city center eventually, landing near a public hall.

He strode off without waiting for Poe, giving no indication of what the plan was. Poe did the only thing he could and followed after him.

Evaan was waiting outside the doors, a thunderous expression on her face. “You’re late,” she accused the prince and then looked to Poe. “Commander, from now on you will be receiving notification of all of Prince Ben’s appointments. Perhaps you can assist with his punctuality.”

“I asked for the itinerary,” Poe said defensively. “All he did was take me for a joyride.”

“I can see that.” Evaan grabbed Prince Ben’s elbow and started to drag him along with her; Poe was sorely tempted to laugh but he didn’t need the prince to resent him any more than he already did.

“This will take all afternoon,” Evaan informed Poe. “You’re free to do as you wish, just be back in time to collect him afterwards and escort him to dinner.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Poe said with a salute that made the tight, angry lines of Evaan’s expression relax just the smallest bit.

Poe amused himself by taking a walk through the city, getting his bearings and enjoying the peaceful bustle of the civilians. The architecture was lovely, one of the handsomer places Poe had seen. He sat in an outdoor café with a pastry and a cup of caf, watching people pass.

He made his way back to the hall where he had left Prince Ben, a bit earlier than he needed to, planning on waiting outside until the prince was finished. Unfortunately, the prince was already waiting for him, pacing back and forth.

_Shit._

Poe hurried over. “Blast, sorry, I thought I was early, I--”

“It’s fine,” Prince Ben said, cutting him off. “I left, I… Take me to dinner. Evaan threatened to shove me off the nearest balcony if I went anywhere without you.”

Evaan was amazing, Poe decided. “So… you don’t need to be back in that meeting?”

“I’m not going back in. I’m leaving, come or don’t. We can come back for my ship.”

Poe was really getting tired of trying to keep up with the prince’s kriffing long legs and his lack of care that Poe had to jog to match his pace when he was hurrying. “Well, I wouldn’t want Evaan to shove you off a balcony. Wouldn’t look good on my record.”

Prince Ben didn’t laugh or smile and Poe resigned himself to a quiet, uncomfortable meal.

-

Prince Ben had a workshop within the palace walls where he spent a lot of his time. He had an apparent aptitude for engineering and mechanics and he was constructing the framework for a droid. When pressed, the prince had told Poe that he had the operating system from an old droid of his mother’s that he was planning on using. The idea of it, and the slightly embarrassed way Prince Ben had explained it, was sort of sweet. He was building himself a companion that his mother liked.

Poe sat on a counter, leaning on his hands and swinging his legs. “I guess you do the maintenance on your ship yourself, too?”

The prince’s eyebrows drew together in annoyance. “Of course.”

“No, hey, that’s cool. I respect that. I just… wasn’t sure what to expect from a prince, you know? It’s cool that you get your hands dirty.”

“I wash them thoroughly.”

Poe laughed. “The ship, I get. But the tinkering, the…” Poe waved his hand vaguely before setting it back down. “The droid stuff? What’s that about?”

“My grandfather was an excellent mechanic,” Prince Ben said softly.

“Was he?” Poe had never heard that of Bail Organa, but then he wasn’t an expert. Maybe the prince meant Han Solo’s father, who was a mystery to pretty much everyone. “Neat hobby, anyway.”

Prince Ben just kept on with what he was doing, focused gaze concentrated inside the open panel on what looked like it would be the torso of the finished droid.

“I’ve got an astromech, Beebee-Ate. Great droid, been with me for a while. Kinda sucks, him not being here.”

“How unfortunate for you.”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess it’s kind of silly, but I like talking to him.”

The prince was silent for a long time and Poe figured he was being judged. Then the prince said, “My mother’s got this protocol droid, Threepio, and he’s a pain in the ass but he always seemed to be there when I needed him. And my uncle, he has an astromech. Artoo. I… I always talk to him, when he’s here.”

“That gives us two things in common, then,” Poe said with a grin. “Ships and droids. Oh! And the Rebellion. My parents knew your parents and all that.”

“It’s like we’re practically twins,” Prince Ben said dryly.

“Must be why you like me so much.”

“There may have been a second where I didn’t begrudge your existence.”

“Well, that’s progress,” Poe said, and watched the prince continue his work.

-

It seemed as though every other night Prince Ben had some function or another to attend. Dinners, balls, opening nights at the theater… It was exhausting. Poe also didn’t appreciate being forced to spend so much time with Prince Ben in his formal wear. It was horribly distracting.

(Okay, maybe the problem was that Poe appreciated it too much.)

The prince was terribly anti-social and at some point – earlier than his mother would like, clearly – he would inevitably make himself scarce. Tonight Poe found him leaning against the edge of the barrier on the balcony outside the palace great hall, watching the stars. The sharp angles and unusual features of his face gave him a striking profile, Poe thought, and the moonlight shone through his dark hair and on his pale skin.

“Hiding?” Poe asked, leaning his hip up against the short wall.

“Apparently tonight is the night for all eligible young people to try to seduce me.”

Poe snorted. “Sounds terrible.”

“It is when you hate dancing, small talk, and mingling.”

“Fair. But won’t your mother want you out there, trying to… be seduced?”

Prince Ben’s grip tightened on the railing. “My mother is used to disappointment.”

“Well, that’s depressing. Also defeatist.”

“I’m afraid I’m ill-suited to all of this.” Prince Ben eyed Poe. “Think you’d be much better at it.”

“I’d look good in the outfit, anyway,” Poe said with an easy smile.

“You have the ego of a prince, that’s confirmed.”

“No point in being modest when everyone knows you’re just talking out of your ass, I’ve always thought.”

It might just have been the way the moonlight and the shadows were hitting his face, but it almost looked like the prince was smiling. “Your honesty’s kind of nice, actually. A lot of people lie to you, when you’re the prince.”

Poe faked a gasp, holding his hand to his chest. “A compliment? I can’t have heard you right.”

“Yeah, don’t get used to it.”

He let the peaceful quiet linger for a while but then Poe felt like he just had to speak. “If you’re so unhappy, why don’t you do something about it? I mean, your uncle’s a Jedi, your dad’s a pilot, your mom was a senator… Surely there are ways out for you. Other things you could do.”

The prince wouldn’t look at him but his eyes looked sad. “My mother is the queen and I am her only child. There are… so few Alderaanians left.”

Poe fell silent again, thinking about that. He had always had so much less than Prince Ben, but he had never felt trapped. He supposed everyone had their problems. Even princes.

He didn’t know what he could say; he thought maybe there wasn’t anything he could say. Finally he just said, “Well, if you’re gonna hide, bring me with you, okay? Looks bad if I keep having to chase you.”

This time Poe was pretty sure that was a smile.

-

Poe didn’t necessarily need to be around when Prince Ben was in the palace (the security was pretty tight), but the prince spent so much time there that more often than not Poe hung around anyway, if for no other reason that it made him feel like he was shirking his duties if he didn’t. Aside from official events, the prince had yet to spend one evening out on the town since Poe had arrived.

Which was fine, you know, Poe had nothing against staying in. It was just not what he had expected and he wasn’t convinced it was entirely by choice.

“Shouldn’t you be living the life? Partying? Clubbing? Isn’t that what you spoiled rich types do?” Hell, even Poe had had his fair share of it, before responsibility had caught up to him.

The prince looked up from the schematics he’d been studying on his datapad. “Hard to do alone, even if I cared to.”

“Aw, come on. You’re the prince. You can’t be lacking for companionship.” Though, Poe had noticed a distinct lack of obvious friendships where the prince was concerned. Actually, maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.

He thought of the prince sitting on the floor in his workroom, building his droid, and felt desperately sad all of a sudden.

“I prefer my own company,” Prince Ben said, in the vaguely defensive manner of someone who had spent his life convincing himself that was true.

Poe had an uncomfortable feeling that the thing Prince Ben needed most was a friend. He wondered if a bodyguard his family was paying for would be able to fill that void, or if that would just be even worse.

Poe decided he wanted to try anyway. He still thought Prince Ben was a dick but he was beginning to kind of like him anyway.

“What’s the best club around here?” Poe asked. “You’ve gotta know.”

Prince Ben narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I’m taking you there, obviously. Your life’s been seriously lacking in fun and if we’re gonna make up for it, we’ve gotta start somewhere.”

The prince was quiet for a long time, careful, assessing gaze fixed to Poe. Eventually he said, “I know a place. We can walk.”

“Lead on,” Poe said with a small bow, which made the prince roll his eyes.

They ended up in the sort of club that clearly would have been entirely too upscale for Poe in his youth – or, honestly, right now, if he hadn’t been keeping company with royalty. It was still loud enough to be comfortably familiar, though, filled with humans and aliens drinking and dancing.

The prince was plainly recognized, heads turning and conversations stopping and starting as he passed, but no one approached him. Prince Ben headed straight for a table in the back, unoccupied as though it was reserved. No one made a fuss about them sitting there so Poe decided not to wonder about who it had been reserved for.

A server – human, not droid – came over immediately to take drink orders, his smile bright but nervous.

“Nothing for me,” Poe said with his best smile, “but my friend will have whatever’s expensive and strong.”

“No, I won’t,” Prince Ben said.

Poe set his hand on the prince’s knee. “Yes, he will.”

The server hesitated. “Should I start a tab?”

When the prince started to protest Poe squeezed his leg. “Yes, thanks.” As the server walked away, Poe said to the prince, “Come on, man, work with me here. I can’t give you a night of the sort of debauchery you should have had a decade ago if you won’t have a kriffing drink.”

“This is unnecessary. Why do you seem so intent on giving me a hangover?”

“It’s not like that, it’s… It’s about letting loose a little. I want to see if you even know how to have fun.” _I want you to have fun. Is that so terrible?_

Prince Ben looked away from Poe, his eyes scanning the crowd. At least he was considering what Poe had said.

Poe realized his hand was still on the prince’s knee and he squeezed lightly again before drawing it back. “I’ll hold your hair back if you throw up, promise.”

The prince still wouldn’t look at him but his mouth twitched and Poe considered that a win.

When the server came with a bottle and a glass, Prince Ben eyed it suspiciously. “Best we’ve got,” the server assured them. “Only our best customers are aware it’s even available.”

“Perfect,” Poe said, smiling at him. “You can leave the bottle.”

“It’s very--”

“He can afford it,” Poe said, and a blush settled on the young man’s cheeks.

“Of course,” he said, and left them.

Prince Ben was sniffing the rim of the bottle, a crease developing between his eyebrows that Poe would not, on pain of death, admit was adorable.

“Oh, come on,” he said, snagging the bottle and pouring a healthy measure into the glass. “Drink up.”

“You are very pushy,” Prince Ben said, scowling, but he took the glass and hesitantly sipped. After seeming to roll it around his tongue before finally swallowing, he took another sip. The crease between his eyebrows had smoothed out.

Poe laughed. “It must be good, you don’t even want to admit it. Here, let me taste.” He stole the glass out of the prince’s hand and drank from it, idly noticing the way Prince Ben’s gaze tracked him. “Wow,” he said. “Shame I’m technically on the job or we would be fighting over this bottle.” He refilled the glass and slid it over the table back to Prince Ben.

“The bottle’s certainly big enough for both of us, but the glass isn’t.” Prince Ben wrinkled his nose and used a napkin to wipe the rim.

Laughing again, Poe said, “Afraid you’ll catch something from me?”

“I don’t know where you’ve been.”

“More places than you,” Poe said, and liked the way it made the prince blush.

Prince Ben drank half the glass.

They had a good view of the floor, of all the couples and groups dancing and enjoying themselves. There was a particularly uncoordinated Zabrak doing her best to keep pace with a graceful Teevan; the result was… humorous, to say the least, but the Teevan was laughing as she pulled the Zabrak in for a kiss.

The prince seemed to be watching the same thing Poe was because he said, “She looks ridiculous.”

“Her girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind.” They were sweet, Poe thought. Watching them made a sort of longing fill his chest; it had been a long time since Poe had had anyone look at him like those girls were looking at each other.

“Don’t they care that we can see them? Everyone can see them. They look foolish.”

“Doesn’t matter, not to them. I mean, that’s basically how it works. You make a fool of yourself for the person who looks at you and thinks you’re kinda perfect anyway.”

“So there’s an idiot out there for everyone, is what you’re saying.”

Poe laughed. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Horrifying,” Prince Ben said, and drained his glass again.

“Or romantic, depending on how you look at it.”

“Horrifying,” the prince repeated, and Poe didn’t bother hiding his smile.

The larger a dent he made in the bottle, the more talkative Prince Ben got. He sort of wavered between animated and moody and Poe did his best to keep the conversation in a lighter direction so as to encourage animation. After a while Poe said, “You know I’m not going to let up until you’ve danced with me.”

Prince Ben, who had been leaning on his elbow, tilted forward extremely ungracefully as his elbow slipped. “Uh, no, thanks.”

“I know you dance,” Poe said, standing up. “I’ve seen you. Reluctantly, admittedly, but you do.”

“Only where it’s required.”

“It’s pretty required in a club. Unless you want to make me dance by myself? You know I’ll be extremely obnoxious and draw more attention to you than if you just come out there with me.”

Prince Ben rolled his eyes but he was standing up, only slightly off-balance. “You’re obnoxious all the time. I’m not sure I’d notice the difference.”

“Oh, buddy, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Poe took the prince’s hands and pulled him onto the dance floor. He was aware that he was being – and had been – pushy and presumptuous, but he figured as long as Prince Ben let him do it, he was fine.

Alcohol didn’t improve Prince Ben’s dancing skills; he remained awkward and gangly. It was funny, because Poe knew he was proficient at least with a lightsaber, thanks to his uncle, but none of that ability seemed to translate anywhere else. Maybe it was only that he cared too much about what people thought of him and was too uptight to let go.

So Poe tried to help him, put his hands on Ben’s hips and moved with him. It got the prince smiling at least, an appealing flush in his pale cheeks, and Poe thought probably that was good enough. He didn’t need the prince to win any medals out here, just to relax and enjoy himself.

He’d gotten Prince Ben to focus on him, too, which made him ignore the gawking of those around them. Poe supposed it was an unusual enough sight, the prince dancing in a club, that he couldn’t be surprised people were looking. He thought a few of them might even have taken holos but there wasn’t much he could do about that. As long as no one decided this would be a great place to make the fee Queen Leia was paying worth it, they’d be fine.

There was sweat at Prince Ben’s temples and he leaned into Poe, hands at his waist.

“Hey,” Poe said, daring to stroke lightly up the prince’s back. “Feeling okay?”

“Tired. Kinda sick.”

“Okay, here. We’ll leave, get you some fresh air. Just wait for me a minute, okay? I’ve gotta pay your tab.” Poe dug in Prince Ben’s pocket for his account card and hurried off to the bar, careful to keep an eye on Ben the whole time. The service was quick; clearly the staff remembered that he was with the prince.

When he returned, Prince Ben was leaning in a corner, his skin even paler than normal. Poe looped his arm around the prince’s waist and led him outside, where the cool air and immediate respite from the crowd would hopefully do him some good.

“You’re massive,” Poe said. “You should not be this much of a lightweight. Don’t you drink at all those fancy dinners your parents drag you to?”

“Think that shit you made me drink was strong,” Prince Ben moaned, and Poe laughed.

“I think you’re right, buddy.”

“What happens if I think I might need to be sick?”

Poe steered him over into an alley where hopefully they would be ignored, just in time for the prince to lean over and puke all over the pavement. He did, thankfully, miss his shoes. Poe stroked his hair away from his face while Prince Ben spat and wiped his hand across his mouth.

“Ugh,” he said, making a face, remaining folded over.

“Told you I’d hold your hair back,” Poe said softly, and rubbed his hand in soothing circles on Prince Ben’s back.

-

Prince Ben stayed in bed half the following day, hungover. When he emerged, Poe expected to be berated for bearing the responsibility of the prince’s discomfort.

Instead he only got some mild grumbling interspersed with the occasional sweet smile. Poe was too surprised to really make much note of it but he did think, quite often, that the prince did have a very nice smile, when he cared to show it off.

-

“Karè,” Poe moaned at the screen of his datapad. “Please remind me why it is a terrible, horrible, rotten idea for me to start thinking that asshole dick spoiled princes that I’m only hanging out with because of work are quality dating material.”

“Did I not say it, Dameron?” Karè demanded. “Did I not tell you to for once in your life keep it in your pants around assholish hot men who are terrible for you?”

“It’s still in my pants,” Poe muttered sullenly. He could control himself. He wasn’t an animal.

“Kriffing hell,” Karè said. “Poe, seriously? Please tell me you aren’t crushing on the crown prince of New Alderaan! The one you’re assigned to protect! The same man you’ve been telling me since you got here is a giant dick!”

Poe averted his eyes away from Karè’s judging face. “Actually not a drawback, apparently.”

“Kriffing hell,” she said again. “If I were over there I’d kick your ass.”

“I know. I wish you were here.”

Karè chewed on her lip. “So… so… you like him now? Or what? You just think he’s hot?”

“I don’t know. Both? Maybe? I don’t know. He’s definitely hot.”

“Okay, so, fuck him and get it out of your system?”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks, stellar advice. That wouldn’t be unprofessional at all.”

“You’re the one having naughty fantasies about your work detail, Poe.”

“Kriff, I know! I just… He’s so fucking _tall._ ”

“For fuck’s sake, Dameron,” Karè said, and Poe hid his face in his soft, soft pillow.

-

“Kriff! Fuck! Fucking bantha shit!” Poe frantically kicked at the knob in the shower with his foot until the water shut off, icy cold water dripping down his body. He shivered and grabbed for his towel – thankfully, it was a luxuriously large and fluffy towel – so he could wrap himself up in it as he got out.

Safely outside the shower, Poe tried the water again. Cold water dripped onto his hand no matter how he fiddled with it.

“Well, shit,” he said. Like hell he was going to take a cold shower, or even a sonic one, while he was staying in a palace.

He also didn’t particularly feel like waiting for repairs. He was sweaty and gross, not to mention already wet. Tugging the towel tighter around his shoulders, he walked over to the comms unit so he could make a call.

Which, of course, was when it beeped with an incoming transmission.

Poe pushed the button to answer it and Prince Ben’s face flickered into view. He opened his mouth, stopped, frowned, then said, “Why are you wearing a towel?”

Rubbing a hand through his wet hair, Poe said, “Long story; my shower’s not working.”

“That’s not actually a long story.”

“Simplified it.”

“You can use mine,” the prince offered, the look on his face seeming to indicate he’d blurted it out without thinking. He was blushing.

Except that seemed like a fabulous idea. No waiting. “Can I?”

“Uh, yeah. Just… just come over. I’m not doing anything.”

“Okay, thanks, I will.” Poe ended the call before he could change his mind or Prince Ben could rescind the offer. He could shower in the prince’s quarters, it was no big deal, right?

Ugh.

Poe dressed quickly and stuffed his toiletries in a bag with a fresh towel before heading over to the prince’s room. His hair was still damp but at least he was no longer dripping when the prince let him in.

“Hey,” Poe said, gripping the strap of the bag slung over his shoulder. “Thanks for this.”

The prince just pointed off to the right. His cheeks were faintly pink as if he realized this was kind of weird, too. “Fresher’s over there.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Poe said, hurrying off.

As nice as Poe’s accommodations were, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that the prince’s were even better. In the fresher, in addition to the shower there was an actual tub, the height of indulgent luxury. Poe was pretty sure he could have had sex in that thing. He carefully was not thinking about lying back in it with the prince. Ahem.

He undressed and took the opportunity to look over the wide array of soaps and haircare products and cologne. He inspected a bottle, murmuring to himself, “So that’s how his hair is so shiny.” Actually, he wondered if the prince would mind if Poe tried this. It didn’t feel right using it without permission so he wrapped his towel around his waist and strode back out of the fresher.

“Hey, can I use--” Poe blinked at the figures of Queen Leia and Captain Solo where they stood staring at him, their son sitting at his desk with a bit of circuitry, most likely for his droid. He could feel a full-body blush overtaking him, which he knew would be plainly visible to everyone in the room. “Um. This really, really isn’t what it looks like.”

Captain Solo was smiling as widely as Poe had ever seen him. “Can you explain what it is, because I think I’d love to hear that story.”

The queen not entirely surreptitiously trod on his foot. The prince was rolling his eyes.

“My shower,” Poe said uselessly. “Uh, my shower wasn’t working? The hot water? I’m really not hanging out half-naked in your son’s bedroom. Or sleeping with him. Or… or whatever.”

“Kriffing hell,” Prince Ben said. He was blushing as brightly as Poe felt he must be, and he appeared to be trying very hard not to look at Poe below chin-level. He wasn’t entirely successful and Poe wasn’t sure what that meant.

“You could do worse, kid,” Captain Solo said, still with that grin. “Though I guess there’s probably some breach of etiquette or professionalism or something here.”

“Dad!”

Queen Leia wasn’t smiling like her husband was but there was obvious amusement in her brown eyes. “Shall I send a droid to repair your shower, Poe?”

“Please,” Poe said, wanting to disappear into the floor. “Um… I should go?”

“Don’t let us interrupt,” Captain Solo said. “We can do this later, Ben.”

Prince Ben muttered something that sounded rude under his breath.

“Take your shower, Poe,” the queen said, her hand at her husband’s elbow. “I’ll have yours fixed as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” Poe said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, far, far too little and too late.

“Have fun,” Captain Solo said as he and the queen left, still obviously having way too much fun himself with this.

“Sorry,” Poe and the prince said at the same time.

“What?” Poe asked.

“My dad. Sorry. He thinks he’s hilarious.” Prince Ben was still fighting to keep his eyes on Poe’s face but his gaze kept dropping and flicking back up again.

Pleasure and desire were curling in Poe’s belly. “It’s fine,” Poe said, and escaped back to the fresher.

He never did find out if the prince would mind Poe using his expensive hair product.

-

Prince Ben took his skyhopper out to fly past the city borders, out into the mountains. He was daring behind the flight stick, pushing faster and faster, winding through narrow canyons. Poe laughed aloud, enjoying himself, and enjoying the way Prince Ben snuck glances at him, half-smiling.

He still wasn’t able to convince the prince to let him have a go, but he figured there was time to wear him down.

They set down near a grove of trees, where they could walk along a trail heading through. “I like to come here sometimes,” Prince Ben said, kicking a rock along. “It’s quiet. I’m terrible at meditation; Uncle Luke pretty much gave up trying to teach me. But I feel like I can think here. Clear my head.”

“From what?” Poe asked without thinking, and then winced. “Sorry, no, I didn’t mean it like that, I just…”

The prince was eyeing him, hands clenched. “So you didn’t mean that I’m obviously a spoiled rich prince with nothing at all to worry me?”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant… You seem to shrug off any duties you could actually take on. You waltz out of meetings early, you avoid responsibility, you hide during dinners…”

“Spoiled little rich prince,” Prince Ben muttered darkly. “Nothing to do but play.”

“No,” Poe said, sighing. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“I think you’re going to tell me whether I want you to or not.”

“I think you have so much opportunity to do something real, something good, but you’re throwing it away. Look at what you’ve been born into! And maybe it doesn’t seem fair, the expectations put on you, but with those expectations are real gifts that so many of us can only dream of. You don’t have to be your mother, if that isn’t what’s right for you. You don’t have to be your uncle, or your father, or anyone but you. But I think if you try to pretend like what you have doesn’t exist, like it doesn’t matter, like _you_ don’t matter, I think you’re not only doing a disservice to all those you could help, but you’re doing a disservice to yourself.”

Prince Ben was silent for a long time. Poe was fairly certain he had irrevocably put his foot in it.

Then the prince said, “I guess it was easy for you. Parents in the Rebellion, so you went into the Navy.”

Poe shrugged. “It felt right. I wanted to help.”

“I wish anything had ever felt that simple to me.”

“Sometimes you just--” But Poe stopped because Prince Ben had startled, freezing in place, one finger raised.

“Quiet,” he murmured, head cocked like he was listening.

Only Poe couldn’t hear anything and he thought maybe the prince wasn’t listening with senses that Poe possessed. Poe tensed, drawing his blaster and scanning the area.

He thought it was a shadow at first, dropping down from the trees. He was slow to react as a result, the attack not registering, but he sure as hell noticed when Prince Ben rolled to the side to avoid the intruder and raised his hand, pushing the shadow-being back with invisible force. A tiny part of Poe was concentrating enough to be impressed.

“Ben!” he shouted, forgetting formality. He fired at the dark figure but missed; he was agile and nimble and dodged the blaster bolts like it was as easy as dancing.

The prince was back on his feet, hand lifting again, but the figure ran at him and without hesitation, Poe fired. Once, twice, three times, hitting the large target of its back. He crumpled and there was the prince, hair ruffled, expression furious.

“What have you done?” he demanded.

Poe gaped at him. “He was going to kill you!”

“He wouldn’t have hurt me! I’m no good to them if I’m dead! Now he can’t tell us anything and that’s exactly what he wanted.” The prince dropped to his knees, turning the body over like he was making absolutely certain the shadow-being was dead.

“Who? For fuck’s sake, tell me what is going on!”

Prince Ben ignored him. “Dead,” he muttered, searching for anything on the body but apparently finding nothing of note. He stood again, striding away in the direction of the skyhopper. He pushed past Poe, deliberately knocking into him.

Doing the only thing he could, Poe hurried in the prince’s wake. “We should return to the palace and speak with your mother. She needs to be told what’s happened.”

“I’ve already told her.”

“You can do that?”

“It’s simple enough.”

Feeling utterly out of his depth, Poe said, “All right, well, we should see her anyway. I want to speak with her and I know she’ll want to see you.”

“She’s been shouting in my head to that effect so yes, you’re probably right.”

It didn’t take them long to walk back to where they had left the skyhopper. Instead of boarding, however, Prince Ben hesitated outside of it, his shoulders held tensely. He turned to make eye contact with Poe.

“You want to know what’s going on?” he asked. “That… thing was here to kidnap me, not kill me.”

“How do you know?”

“When I was young, a… dark presence in the Force tried to invade my mind. My mother and my uncle shielded me from him. They protected me. For a long time I could hardly so much as sense my own Force presence, but as I got older, as things seemed safer, they lessened my shields to open up my connection to the Force.”

“A dark presence?” Poe repeated.

Prince Ben nodded. “My family was never able to identify him but he seemed to want me for his own, as an apprentice, maybe.”

“Because that’s not completely creepy. A strange evil man preying on small children.” Poe suppressed a shudder. “Why you?”

Prince Ben shrugged. “My potential, my family legacy, who the fuck knows? I’m a Skywalker.”

Poe supposed maybe that was enough. “What will happen now?”

“My uncle will return from whatever Jedi ruin he’s holed himself up in and reinforce the shields. They’ll argue about whether it’s best to cut me off from the Force completely.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I’m the prince of New Alderaan and a Skywalker. Doesn’t matter what I want.”

Poe touched Prince Ben’s elbow, fingers on his sleeve. “It’s the only thing that matters.”

They were quiet for the flight back into the city and remained quiet as Poe escorted the prince to his parents’ chambers.

The queen looked abnormally pale as she turned when the door opened. Captain Solo was by her side but she rushed immediately to her son, hugging him fiercely. “Stars, Ben,” she said, falling against him.

The prince held his mother, one large hand cupping the back of her head as she pressed against his chest. Captain Solo strode over to join them, his craggy features tight with worry, and he wrapped his arms around them both.

Poe quietly let himself out, leaning against the wall beside the door. He knew they would call for him when he was needed.

At the moment, all they needed was each other.

-

Eventually Poe was invited back in and they spent what honestly felt like hours discussing what had happened, the prior history the prince had mentioned, the future. Again Poe felt like he was lost at sea without knowing how to swim, like he didn’t belong, like he should never have been brought here in the first place. He understood that the queen had thought this particular threat was no longer an issue, but the idea that it had existed at all was throwing Poe for a loop.

He was good at what he did, but what he did wasn’t protecting Force-sensitive princes from evil-minded, predatory Dark Side users.

“We will talk more,” the queen said. “My brother will arrive and…” She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “We will involve you in everything, Poe. I think now, however, what we could all use is some rest.”

“Queen Leia,” Poe murmured, dipping his head to her. Her smile was tight.

Prince Ben moved to embrace her again. Poe averted his eyes out of politeness and Captain Solo moved over to him, saying softly, “Thank you. For protecting him.”

“It’s what I’m here for, right?” Poe said, uncomfortable with the praise.

“As we discussed, we’ll be increasing security but… maybe you could stay close to him?”

Poe didn’t know why he felt so warm. “You know I--”

Captain Solo laid his hand on Poe’s shoulder. “I don’t care what you boys do. I just want him safe, and far away from that demon who’d like to steal him.”

“Of course,” Poe said, nodding, and he left the room with the prince.

He thought it would be awkward, trying to do as Captain Solo wished, but outside the prince’s doors Ben said, “You want to come in?”

So Poe did.

“I’d kinda like some of that booze from the club right now,” Prince Ben said, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.

Chuckling a little, Poe said, “I feel you. I’m fond of that fizzy stuff from my first night here.”

“I could get us some Toniray from the storage cellar. Have you had Toniray yet?”

“Haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Missing out,” Prince Ben said. “I can send someone?”

“Maybe another time.” Tonight of all nights, Poe felt, he needed to be in complete control of his senses. He moved a step closer to the bed. “Prince Ben, I…”

“You don’t always have to call me that. My name’s just Ben. Think you can just say that.”

“Ben,” Poe said. “I… Can I be honest? Is that okay? I’m not equipped for this. Regular kidnappers I can handle, but servants to the Dark Side who want to claim you as an apprentice? I can’t protect you from that.”

“Maybe protection isn’t what I want,” the prince said, standing.

“That’s why I’m here.”

“And you’d leave otherwise?”

“Ben, I…” Poe looked up into Ben’s face; shit, he was tall. It felt like the heat from Ben’s body was radiating outwards, seeping in through Poe’s skin.

“You said that what I want matters.”

“It does.”

“Even if it’s this?” Prince Ben bent forward, tilting Poe’s chin up. The kiss wasn’t great; they were poorly aligned and Ben was rushing it.

But honestly, Poe didn’t care; he looped his arm around the prince’s waist to tug him closer and opened his mouth beneath Ben’s. This was a terrible, terrible idea and he just didn’t care.

“Especially if it’s this,” he said, breathing it into Ben’s mouth, and kissed him again.

-

When Poe awoke, the room was still dark and his back was pressed against something solid and warm.

 _No,_ Poe thought, and realized it hadn’t been a dream.

He had slept with Ben.

_Shit._

He lay there for a moment before carefully shifting, sitting up with his back against the headboard. Ben didn’t move.

In the darkness Ben looked peaceful, curled in on himself like a little boy. His features had smoothed out, no lines of worry or fear or anxiety.

 _Fuck,_ Poe thought to himself. What had he been thinking? Well, he supposed he hadn’t been. He’d been scared and worried and overwhelmed, and… Hell. Karè was right. This time, at least, he really, really should have kept it in his pants.

He wished he didn’t care so much. He wished Ben could have stayed the dickish spoiled brat Poe had first judged him as, instead of this… complicated, lost, lonely young man, scared of his own future. It shouldn’t have gone like this.

But there was only one thing he could do now. Right? He was emotionally compromised and he had acted without thinking, without care for the consequences. He had let himself become distracted and that couldn’t happen. He didn’t know how to keep Ben safe.

He was pretty sure he couldn’t.

Poe got up, searching the floor for his scattered clothing. He dressed quickly, ignoring the pull of shame, that he had done this at all, that he was running out, that he was leaving. He should have been a better friend to Ben; he should have been what Ben needed.

He perched on the side of the bed for a moment, watching Ben sleep. He should have been better.

Poe stroked his knuckles down the side of Ben’s face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and left before Ben ever even opened his eyes.

-

Poe stood before Queen Leia in perfect military posture, his back straight, chin raised, hands behind his back. “I’ve put in for a transfer. The New Republic will be sending someone to replace me as Prince Ben’s bodyguard. I wanted to tell you myself.”

“That is not what we discussed,” Queen Leia said, frowning.

“I know. I’m sorry. I… I think this is best. I think Prince Ben needs someone better trained for the threats that face him.”

“He will have his uncle. And I thought you said you could be counted on?”

“I can, I--”

“You asked me once why I asked you specifically to protect my son.” Queen Leia pressed her palm to the center of Poe’s chest. “It was because of what’s in here.”

“I don’t understand.”

Queen Leia hesitated, as if gathering her thoughts. “Ben was never as interested in his future, in his role as a prince of Alderaan, as I hoped he would be. He was… the sort of spoiled, self-centered royal I had told myself I would never raise. I thought perhaps you might be a good influence on him. Help him… grow up.”

“A good influence? You don’t even know me.”

“Oh, so that wasn’t you who used to sit in my lap and tug on my hair?”

Poe could feel his cheeks flush. He couldn’t even deny it; his dad had the embarrassing holos to prove it. “That’s different. I was practically a baby still. You don’t know me _now_.”

Queen Leia moved one step closer, only the smallest width of space between them. “If you think I haven’t watched your career, watched _you,_ looked out for you and watched the man you grew into like your mother would have wanted me to, then it’s you who doesn’t know me.”

“Queen Leia, I…” _I slept with your son. Oh, kriff._ “I don’t think it’s wise for me to work for you any longer. I’m afraid it might be a… a conflict of interest.”

The queen sighed softly as if in exasperation. “Poe, did you think I didn’t realize? I can’t say it was my intention to bring you here to seduce my son-- or be seduced by him, frankly, I don’t care which way it was-- but I’m not… Whatever happened between you is between the two of you. I think it would be wise for you to refrain from doing something rash that I suspect you may regret.”

Poe swallowed and looked away. “Afraid it’s too late for that.”

“Poe--”

“If you would like me to, I will remain until my replacement arrives, of course. Otherwise, I’ll get on the first transport out of here.”

Queen Leia’s mouth twisted in displeasure. As she turned to leave she said, “I can keep my son out of trouble if you are so intent on running away.”

Poe’s mother hadn’t lived long enough for him to do much to disappoint her. He thought if she had, it probably would have felt like this.

-

Ben found Poe exiting his suite, on his way to the spaceport to catch his transport. Poe felt like his heart was sinking all the way to his stomach, heavy and leaden, making him feel nauseated.

“So it’s not enough for you to sneak out of beds, you’ve got to sneak off the entire planet, too?”

“I thought it would be easier,” Poe said, feeling like an asshole.

“Easier for you?”

“Ben, I… I complicated things. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have… I think it’s best if you have someone to watch over you who won’t jeopardize your safety. I was never that great a bodyguard anyway.”

“You’re full of shit,” Ben said, his voice like an angry hiss. “You talk about how what I want is so important but you don’t actually care; you only care about yourself. You only care about what you want, and about what you can get from me. You’re no different from everyone else.”

“That’s not true, Ben, I--”

“Just go! It’s what you want, isn’t it? Just kriffing go.”

Poe desperately didn’t want to leave things like this but Ben’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were bright and Poe thought he might cry, and he was certain that sticking around to see it would only make things worse. “I’m sorry,” he said, and turned around and left.

-

Poe had always loved Hosnian Prime, the crowds, the hustle, the cityscape, but when he stepped off his transport somehow it seemed duller than it used to, dirtier, grimier. He missed the clean air of New Alderaan and the wide open spaces.

He took an airbus to base and then walked to his living quarters, toting his luggage. He saw a few familiar faces on the way and forced himself to make small talk when really all he wanted was to collapse in his bed with a bottle of something strong.

He had only barely collapsed, though, when someone banged rudely on his door. He wanted to shout, _go away,_ but instead he valiantly got up to let whoever it was in.

Karè.

She pushed her way past him. “Well, this was abrupt. I had to hear it from command that you were coming back.”

“I fucked up, Karè,” Poe said, and sank back down onto the bed.

She sat next to him and listened in silence to the whole sorry tale. It sort of made Poe feel better, a tiny bit, just saying it all out loud.

She was quiet, too, for a while after he had finished, processing it. Then she said, “So you fucked the prince, crawled out of his bed before he woke up, and then took the first transport you could not just off the planet, but out of the entire system?”

“It sounds really bad when you say it like that.”

“Kriff, you’re an asshole.”

“I know.” Poe rubbed his fingers at his temples, then through his hair. What a fucking disaster. Some vacation this had been.

“You really liked him,” Karè said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah.” Poe looked down at his knees. “Yeah, I did.”

She didn’t say that he had made a mistake, or that he had handled it badly, or any of the hundred other things she could have that Poe knew already. Instead she said, “Maybe it’s for the best. What kind of future could you have had? He’s the prince of New Alderaan.”

“Yeah,” Poe said quietly. “I always fall for the wrong men, right?”

Karè watched him for a moment before scooting over so she could wrap her arm around Poe’s shoulders. He leaned against her and they stayed like that for a long time.

-

There was something comforting and reassuring about being back on Hosnian Prime. Poe had been gone months but so little had changed that it felt like no time at all. BB-8, and Rapier Squadron, and _Black One._ The caf served in the mess was still horrendous, the water in the showers was still lukewarm at best, and they were still getting sent out on boring as fuck patrols. Poe appreciated the routine; somehow it helped him feel less sad.

“Iolo, man, your eyesight might be better than mine but you need your memory checked,” Poe said as they all emerged from the hangar, the sun still high overhead. “That is not how it happened.”

“Karè, come on, back me up,” Iolo tried. “No? Muran?”

“Don’t try pulling them into this, you--” Poe stopped abruptly in place and Karè nearly skidded into him.

Across the street was standing a figure that Poe had never expected to see again off the HoloNet.

Prince Ben Organa-Solo.

“Hey, isn’t that your man?” Iolo asked, only to end up with Karè’s elbow in his side.

“See you later, Dameron,” she said with a look of some significance before she shoved Iolo and Muran off along with her.

Poe walked slowly forwards to meet Ben where he stood with his hands shoved into his pockets, shoulders slouched slightly in a display of horrendous posture that his mother would have shouted at him for. His pale skin stood out starkly against the black of his hair and his clothes.

“Ben,” Poe said, for lack of anything more intelligent.

“Poe.”

“Where’s your new bodyguard?”

Ben jerked his head. “She’s over there, with my uncle.”

Now that Poe was actually looking beyond Ben, he saw the unmistakable figure of Luke Skywalker chatting with a tall blonde who definitely looked like she could take care of herself, Ben, and probably everyone in her vicinity while she was at it. “Damn,” Poe said. “Luke Skywalker.”

Rolling his eyes, Ben said, “He’s really not that special. Kind of a dork. Terrible sense of humor.”

“Yeah, but he’s still the dork who blew up the Death Star, defeated the Emperor, and resurrected the Jedi.”

“You’ll make me jealous of my own uncle.”

Poe smiled at the flustered way Ben was averting his eyes, like he was sorry he’d said it. “Don’t worry. Actually it was your mom I was really into.”

Ben made a horrified face. “I think that’s worse.”

“No, I just mean, she was my hero when I was a kid. Luke and Captain Solo were great, but I was never gonna be a Jedi and I already had the best pilot there ever was tucking me in at night. But your mother? She fought for all of us, sacrificed so much, like we were all her people. I admired her a lot.”

“I must have been a terrible disappointment in comparison.”

Poe touched Ben’s elbow without thinking about it. “You weren’t. Just… a bit lost and confused, maybe. I mean, you were a dick, don’t get me wrong, but not a disappointment.”

“I don’t think I was the only one who was a dick.”

Wincing internally, Poe shook his head. “No. You weren’t. Honestly, I… I didn’t think you’d ever want to see my face again.”

“I didn’t either,” Ben said, having trouble maintaining eye contact. “Turns out I kept seeing it even though you weren’t there.”

That was… weirdly sweet, Poe thought, and kind of sad. “If it helps, I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too.”

“Just not enough not to have left in the first place, I guess.”

 _I was wrong,_ Poe wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure he had the right. “Ben, why are you here?”

Glancing towards his uncle and his bodyguard, shifting his weight, Ben said, “What you said. That I was wasting the opportunities that I have, that I should be who I want to be. I’m not sure who that is yet, but I’m not sure I’m going to find out in a palace on New Alderaan. I’ve spent my life being Queen Leia’s sullen, spoiled son, and that isn’t what I want. So I thought… I thought maybe if I came here, I could figure out what it is I do want, and what I can do with what I’ve been given.”

“I’m glad,” Poe said, meaning it. He felt proud, even though Ben wasn’t his to be proud of.

That still didn’t answer, though, why Hosnian Prime.

“Is that the only reason?” Poe asked. His heart seemed to be thumping faster than normal.

“My mother… My mother told me that sometimes you have to risk making a fool of yourself when a thing’s important enough. I guess I figured it was time I started taking her advice.” Ben hesitated, his cheeks flushing red. “And I… I guess I’m hoping that I can make a fool of myself and you’ll think I’m kinda perfect anyway.”

Poe stood there, hearing his own words echoing off Ben’s tongue and wondering if this was actually happening. Ben couldn’t possibly mean what Poe wanted him to mean, not after how Poe had hurt him.

“It’d help if you said something,” Ben muttered.

“After what I did?” he blurted out. Fuck.

“Guess that makes me stupid, huh?”

Poe couldn’t find the words, couldn’t find any words at all, the right ones or the wrong ones. He only knew what he wanted to do.

So he did it.

Kissing Ben still felt new, like something Poe wanted to do again and again and again. He had to rise up into it, weight in his toes, heels off the ground, while Ben folded over to meet him. Ben’s mouth was soft and warm and his hair felt silky between Poe’s fingers.

There was a part of him that realized they were making a scene, out in the open where anyone could see them, but that seemed terribly unimportant in comparison to the way Ben felt pressed against him. If they were going to do this then Poe was going to end up in the tabloids at some point; might as well get it over with.

Poe leaned into Ben’s chest, arms around each other, listening to the quick, steady thud of his heart. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left, I… I’m sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to. Guess maybe I was scared.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the mature, experienced one.”

Poe snorted. “Buddy, if I were good at men or relationships, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I guess that’s lucky for me, then?” Ben said, disarmingly sweet. “We can be terrible at this together.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Poe said, pulling back. “Just to perpetuate the me being a dick thing, though, I’ve honestly gotta go. I have a meeting in, like, five minutes.”

“A meeting, sure,” Ben said, faintly smiling.

“Hey, you wanna date a guy in the Navy, this is what you’re signing up for. A fucking awful schedule, helmet hair, and a frightening amount of orange.”

Ben laughed. “My mother did warn me against flyboys.”

“Thought your mother married a flyboy.”

“She did; that’s why she warned me.”

“Well, I’m sure if my mother had realized I’d be dumb enough to set my sights so high, she would have warned me against pampered princes.”

“Hey, you don’t know. Mothers might love me. I don’t even know.”

“Yeah,” Poe said, losing the joke, watching the way the sunlight looked in Ben’s shiny dark hair. “I think she would’ve been okay with you.”

Ben’s mouth went soft and fond, pleased at the compliment, and maybe a little embarrassed. “I should go, then. Let you go, I mean. So you aren’t late.”

Poe took the opportunity to tug Ben’s head down for another quick kiss. “One before I go, first,” he said, liking the blush in Ben’s cheeks. “I’ll comm you when I’m out. We can meet up; you can introduce me to your uncle and your truly terrifying new bodyguard.”

“At least you don’t have to worry,” Ben said. “I won’t be sleeping with this one; think she’d cut my dick off first.”

Laughing, Poe pushed him off towards his uncle. “Don’t try it; I’ve got a keen interest in your dick remaining attached.”

Ben lifted his hand as he walked off and Poe watched him a bit longer before he had to turn away. Kinda perfect, he thought, for a pampered dick of a prince.


End file.
